Oil filling and breather pipe means for internal-combustion engines



2,644,430 E MEANS July 7, 1953 I w. B. LANG OIL FILLING AND BREATHER PIP FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES 2 S heets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1951 I N V E NTOR W/VL 72-7? & LIA/G,

ATTORNEYS y 7, 1953 w. B. LANG 2,644,430

OIL FILLING AND BREATHER PIPE MEANS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed April 2'7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WHL 72?? B. LIV/VG,

ATTORNEYS Patented July 7, 1953 OIL FILLING.AND .BREATHER vPIPE .MEANS .FDR INTERNAL: COMBUSTION ENGINE S .Walter B.Lang, Washington, D.,,C.

Application April v2'7, 1951, SerialNo. 223,349

12 Claims.

,1 This inventionrelates to. combinedoilfiller and breatherpipe means for automobilesand the like, and aims to providea simpleand ,e'fiectivearrangement for improving the oil filling of such vehicles.

In automobilesandthe like ascurrently constructed an .oil ,filler pipe is provided leading downwardly to,. or inwardly through .theside of, the engine through which lubricating oil. is introduced into thecrankcase directly, or through the valve chamber. Theoil. filler pipe is usually pro- ;vided with a.so-.called.breather-cap ,or dust-cap quart ,cans, and for .oil servicing of the vehicles the cans are punctured and their contents poured into a funnel inserted into the filling pipe, ,or the cans are puncturedbya portable funnel or spout which in turn is inserted into thebreather pipe while the oil passes therethrough. After the ;de-

livery is made the funnel or spout is removed by the mechanic or person servicing the car.

Especially in cold weather the drainage of the on from the punctured cans and tunnels usedis apt to be very slowand incomplete. The car driver and the serviceman are delayed by the necessity to wait for the slow draining to occur. As a rule the draining is not conducted for asufficientlength of time to scavenge substantiallyiall of the oil, and an amount which mayrangeup to several ounces out of ,each quart is left in the can. Indeed many service stations invert. the cans from which oil has been delivered introughsorbarrels provide a new structure of .oil filler and breather pipe, formed to insure full delivery to the customer of oilpurchased in refinery sealed cans,

" and which affects a marked ,savingintime ofdelivery ofthe oilattheservice stop. .Other objects residein the ,particular arrangements and..com- ,binationsof parts and in subsidiaryelements contributing to theattainmentof the principal .ob-

jiects. .The invention resides .in .the .novelstructural features hereinafter described'by example,

and'is more particularly pointed out in the ap pended. claims.

In the accompanying drawings of illustrative embodiments of the invention Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of one embodiment in association with an automotive engine indicated diagrammatically.

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail to an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33, Fig. 1, in the direction indicated .by the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on theline 4-4 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows but illustrating a modified spring mount- In the illustrative embodiments the oil filler or breather pipe I0 (Fig. 1) isshown mounted'in a conventional manner ona V-type engine generally indicated at H. 'The .filler and breather ,structure'in the'form shown in Fig. 1 comprises a chamber I2, preferably of generally cylindrical form and of a size to freely receive, with clearance ,for the purposes hereinafter described, a standard one quart can of .oilexemplmed at I3. The bottom of the chamber I2 in the form shown is tapered. downwardly funnelwise, as at I4, for .funnelingthe lubricant into the filler pipe I 0. An .abutment I5, herein afiorded by the peripheral portion of the bottom I4, is provided for support- .ing a sub-:assembly I .6.

.Thesubwassemb1y 16in the formrshown in Fig. .4 comprises a. strainerplate II which rests against the abutment I 5, Fig- 1, and serves to prevent any foreign objects that may be dropped into the chamber I2 from passing therefrom through the pipe I0 and into the engine. As shown in Figs.

,1 and ,4 can openingmeans I8, preferably struck up from and integral withthe strainer plate I! is also provided, preferably in the sub-assembly. In addition an ejector means in the form of a spiral spring element 20 is provided for lifting the can from which the oilhas been discharged from the can-opening means and raising it out of the chamber l2 sufficiently to facilitate its ready removal. Theejectormeans-may take any suitable .form, andwhen formed as a spiral spring may be secured. inany. suitable way, but preferably is carried by the sub-assembly I6, being shown as mounted on the strainer plate I! in Fig. 4 and in Fig.1. In the arrangement of Fig. 4 there is provided centrallyof theplate I! an up-struck portion or strip 2 I, and the lower smaller end of the spiral spring 20 is bent upon itself to form a bight 2,2 which is inserted under the strip 2 I. If desired the strip 2| may thereafter be deformed,

7 shown in Fig. 3).

as by depressing of its central portion into the bight 22, to firmly retain the spring in its mounted 1 position. In the form of Fig. 1 a similar but modified arrangement is shown in which the strip 23 is downwardly displaced so that the bight overlies the same with its respective ends underlying the main portion of the plate ll and retained thereby. In this case the strip 23 may be upwardly deformed at its central portion to secure the spring against accidental removal.

As mentioned, the chamber I2 is preferably sized to receive and house a standard one quart receptacle E3 of lubricant with clearance space 24 about its sides, which space preferably has a cross sectional area approximately equal to that of the discharge end of the breather pipe indi' Guide means illustrated as I cated at it in Fig-1. comprising ribs 25 struck inwardly from the side walls of the chamber ar provided for guiding a standard one quart receptacle approximately centrally in said chamber to align its bottom wall with the can opening means l8 which preferably puncture the receptacle close to the outer edges of its bottom and turn the cut flaps inwardly, as

in Fig. 1. As best shown in Fig. 1 the'ribs 25 are preferably terminated in spaced relation to.the

abutment l5, and the sub-assembly it or strainer plate ll, see Fig. 4,.is preferably notched, as at "26, so that it may be sliddown along the ribs or grooves 25 and may be rotated below the lower ends thereof, if desired, to displace the notches 26 relative to the ribs 25.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3the upper end of the chamber l2, which is desirably reinforced by a ring or collar 21', is provided with a cover 28. In

,the form shown the said cover is hinged to the reinforcing member 2? inspaced relation to the chamber l2, as at 35, so that the cover may be moved to a position in which it does not interfere with the placing or removal of the container l3. Latch means 3! of any suitable form, shown as of the spring pressed type and carried by the 1 cover 28 and engaging with the ring 2?, is pro- I vided for retaining the cover in closed position.

passing through cooperating slots in the cover.

The filter housing is filled with metal wool or other appropriate air filtering medium 35 not The portion of the cover 28 underlying the filter element is perforated as shown at 36, and these perforations enable clean, cool air to be drawn through the filter element 35 and the perforations 36, through the space above the can 13 and between the depresser elements 32 and through the clearance space 2t and the filler pipe delivery end It into the crank case of the internal combustion engine for ventilating 4 comprise a spring raised puncturing member 31 having a striker head 38 on its upper end. As will be obvious from Fig. 2 with the receptacle l3 in place and the cover closed, a sharp blow against the striker head 38 will drive the pointed tip of the puncturing member til through the container 13, and the spring 39 will then retract the puncturing member 2'! leaving an open puncture in the container top. As used herein, the terms can," container and receptacle are to be considered applicable to refinery sealed packages, regardless of the material of which they are constructed. vWhile refinery sealed cans of oil are customarily of metal, it is contemplated that paper, fiber, or plastic receptacles may be employed.

From theforegoing description it will be apparent that when it is desired to add a quart of oil at a service stop, this may be effected without delay by simply opening cover 28, and dropping a fresh can of oil, which does not even have to be opened manually, into the chamberor housing LIZ. The cover 28 may thenbe closed and the motorist may proceed uponhis way without waiting for drainage of the container l3 even inthe coldest weather. Moreover by employment of the present invention full delivery of all the'contents of the container 3 to the crank case of the engine is assured and loss of up to 10% or more of the oil purchased is avoided. When the ,.cover 28 isclosed it assures full puncture of the bottom of the receptacle. l3 and. compression of the ejector spring 20. When the cover is opened the ejector 2E elevates the empty receptacle l3 sufficiently through the top of the housing E2 to enable it to be .quickly grasped and removed for replacement with a fresh refinery sealed oil 7 package.

the receptacle l2 aids in avoiding spilling of .the

oil upon the engineand its capacity allows the rate of pouring of the oil to be varied within wide limits without spilling. In addition the presence V of the strainer l l guards against the introduction oil by careless service attendants.

'In addition, the present invention is extremely useful to an owner who services his own car with factory sealed oil, either for reasons of economy, or because remote from a service station, or during long trips, as it avoids delays for him and also enables the addition of oil with minimum chance of soiling the hands or clothing.

It will be understood that the exemplary embodiment hereindescribed is illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope 'of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications coming within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

1, A device of the class described comprising abreather and oil filler pipe for an internal combustion engine, said breather and oil fillerpipe comprising a chamber sized to receive and completely house a sealed can of oil with clearance about its sides, can opening means within said chamber for engaging, piercing, and opening the sealed can as it is forced downwardly against the same, a cover for closing said chamber, and

can depressing means for positioning the can in spaced relation thereto, air filtering means carried by said cover, said chamber being vented through said air filtering means, and means for securing said vented cover in chamber closing position.

2. A device according to claim 1 further comprising a grill or strainer within and removably supported in spaced relation to the bottom of said chamber, an ejector means for elevating the empty can when said cover means is open to facilitate removal thereof from said chamber, said ejector means being carried by and removable with said grill or strainer and projecting upwardly therefrom.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which the can opening means is formed integral with and struck upwardly from said grill or strainer, and is removable therewith.

4. A device of the class described comprising a breather and oil filler pipe for an internal combustion engine, said breather pipe comprising a chamber sized to receive and completely house a sealed can of oil with clearance about its sides, can opening means within said chamber for engaging, piercing and opening the sealed can as it is forced downwardly against the same, a cover for said chamber, said cover comprising can depressing means for positioning the can in spaced relation thereto, air filtering means carried by said cover, said chamber being vented through said air filtering means, means for securing said cover in chamber closing position, and ejector means for elevating the empty can when said cover means is opened to facilitate removal thereof from said chamber.

5. A device according to claim 4, said can depressing means comprising spaced projections extending from said cover.

6. A device according to claim 4 in which the side walls of the chamber are ribbed for guiding the can approximately centrally of the chamber.

7. A device according to claim 6, said ribs terminating above the bottom of the chamber, and said device further comprising a strainer in the form of a perforated plate notched to slide along said ribs and rotatable in the bottom of said chamber to misalign its notches with said ribs.

8. A device according to claim 7, said ejector means comprising a spiral spring secured to the central portion of said perforated plate and removable therewith and compressible theretoward by the can as the latter is depressed by said can depressing means.

9. A device according to claim 8, said plate comprising a centrally struck-out strip and said spring having a reversely bent bight engaged between said strip and plate for securing said spring to the central portion of said plate.

10. A breather and oil filler pipe for a vehicle employing an internal combustion engine, said pipe having a perforated cover with an air filter associated therewith and having a discharge end for delivering oil to the engine, said pipe comprising between said air filter and said discharge end a chamber for bodily receiving and completely housing a sealed can of oil, and means within said chamber for bottom puncturing such can of oil to permit draining of the oil therefrom through said discharge end and into the engine while the vehicle is in motion with its engine breathing through said air filter.

11. A sub-assembly for a device of the class described comprising a perforated strainer plate having can-opening elements struck-out therefrom and turned upwardly out of the plane of the plate and having a spiral spring secured centrally of the plate and extending from the upper side thereof and compressible theretoward.

12. A sub-assembly according to claim 11 in which said spiral spring is formed with a reversely bent bight and in which said plate has a centrally positioned strip partially severed therefrom and embracing said bight for securing said spring to said plate.

WALTER B. LANG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,635,563 Sanford July 12, 1927 1,741,339 Sager Dec. 31, 1929 1,887,592 Goodfellow Nov. 15, 1932 2,024,898 Weltner Dec. 17, 1935 2,034,958 Plaster Mar. 24, 1936 2,114,459 Wiswell Apr. 19, 1938 2,130,085 Harks Sept. 13, 1938 2,135,378 Allen Nov. 1, 1938 

